Beer of the Week

The beer: No Limits Hefeweizen

Brewed by: Two Roads Brewing Company, Stratford, Connecticut

Description (from the website): "Brewmaster Phil Markowski has taken a “bahn” less traveled to create our version of the classic Bavarian wheat brew – perfect for the warming temperatures. Beautifully cloudy with a generous head of foam, a wonderful fruit aroma and a dry finish, our Hefeweizen is a refreshing version of the original; with just a little bit more of everything."

Would I buy it again?: I wouldn't go rushing out for one, but I definitely wouldn't say no. I like hefeweizens, and this was a decent hefeweizen. Very drinkable, with a bit of interesting taste to it.

Spotted Cows Demand Spotted Cow

Perhaps it's not the most surprising thing that a group of cows showed up at New Glarus Brewing Company late one night. The place is in the middle of rural Wisconsin. But it is kind of funny that a group of spotted cows wandered half a mile and up a hill to a place that sells a beer called Spotted Cow. Word must have spread to the cow community that there had been some copyright infringement, and they sent some representatives to sort things out.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Hop Harvest Haze IPA

Brewed by: Saranac Brewery, Utica, New York

Description (from the website): "Soft, easy-drinking Hazy IPA brewed with Citra, Mosaic, and Galaxy hops for a mix of tropical fruit, citrus, and earthy dankness."

Would I buy it again?: This beer came with a fall sampler 12-pack, and to be honest, this is the beer I least wanted. There's always one that you have to tolerate in order to get to the good stuff. It was fine as far as IPAs go, nothing special. Bitter but not that difficult to drink. I wouldn't buy it again unless it came with something better.

Review: Orchard Creek Golf Club (Part 2)

It's time to see the back nine at Orchard Creek, go here if you haven't seen the front.

The tenth hole is a mid-length par 4 that plays gently downhill to a fairway protected by several bunkers, one right and three left. I'm not entirely sure what it was, but this tee shot made me feel distinctly uncomfortable. There's no reason not to use driver, but I didn't, and neither did my brothers. Anyway, the second shot is a wedge or short iron to a long green bisected by a ridge and protected by a bunker right.

The tenth hole.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is a short par 3, playing 165 over a native area. When you step onto the tee, all you can see is the top of the flag, and you have to do some searching just to find that. Once you've done that and hit your tee shot, you'll find a very interesting green. For one, the long and narrow green runs away from the tee, but in case that wasn't enough, it falls away in a series of three separate tiers. If you're all the way in the back, as I was, taking two putts is going to be a very tall order. Oh, and don't miss left or long, you probably won't find it.

This is all you can see on the eleventh tee.

The eleventh green is a unique one.

The twelfth hole is a fairly simple shortish par 4, going back up the hill the tenth and eleventh played down. It's a sharp dogleg left, and you're best suited cutting off as much of that dogleg as you can. There's a bunker guarding the front right section of the green, so the further left you are, the better angle you'll have, not to mention you'll have a shorter shot. If you can draw your drive around the tree near the tee, you'll be even better off.

The twelfth hole.

Approaching the twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is a very long par 4 at 470 yards, though it really isn't as tough as the yardage might indicate. There's no trouble on the drive, so feel free to blast one as far as possible. You'll need that distance in order to get a decent view on the second shot. A lone bunker guards the green to the left, which once again slopes from front to back. The hole is very accepting of run-up shots, and considering you'll be approaching with a mid to long iron, you'll probably want to take advantage.

The thirteenth hole.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole is also a par 4, but manages to be a whole 200 yards shorter than the previous hole. Yes, it's a 270 yard par 4. And it's a good one too. A decision has to be made on the tee. Do you play safe out the right, leaving a difficult uphill pitch over a bunker? Do you lay up short and left, a more difficult proposition but one that leaving you a straightforward second? Or do you go for the green, which is pressed up against a native area right? My brothers and I all went for the green, and our scores ranged from birdie to triple bogey. And that is the sign of an excellent short par 4.

The fourteenth hole.

Playing it safe leaves a difficult half-wedge to the fourteenth green.

For the fifteenth hole, we go from a par 3.5 to another par 3.5. Of course, the last hole was technically a par 4, and this is a 260 yard par 3. Sure, it plays downhill, but that's still a very long par 3. If you're really long, you can get away with an iron, but for most of us, a wood is necessary. Much like 13 though, the length is really all this hole has going for it. There's a pond left, but I'd hesitate to call it a real hazard. Even with a wood, you'd still have to hit a really bad shot to go in it. The green is pretty simple, and there are no bunkers. All in all, not the best hole in the world.

The fifteenth hole.

The sixteenth hole is by far the longest hole at Orchard Creek, playing to a brawny 587 yards. The first and most obvious issue is the native area running down the entire left side of the hole. That native area narrows the fairway about 200 yards from the green, meaning that a poorly hit drive has to contend with it. A pond sits about 75 yards from the green, so most third shots will end up in the wider portion of the fairway between the native area and the pond. The green is shallow and protected by a bunker front left, so laying up out to the right definitely opens things up. This is a par 5, but it's not much of a birdie opportunity.

The sixteenth hole.

You probably won't be getting to the sixteenth green in two.

A good place to be in two.

The small sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole may be 30 yards shorter than the fifteenth hole, but this is still a 225 yards par 3 we're dealing with. Other than a couple bunkers right, there's not a lot to this hole, it's just a bit of a slog, considering it comes at the end of the round.

The seventeenth hole.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole is a reachable par 5, playing less than 500 yards. The tee shot is uphill to a semiblind fairway, and other than a small fairway bunker and some O.B. far to the left, there's plenty of room to work with. The second shot is more interesting. A ditch filled with long grass surrounds the last 100 yards of the hole on three sides. You can certainly lay up short, but when the hole is 493 yards, having a third shot that long is disappointing. If you go for it, the green is on a peninsula, with very little room for error. Now, the green is pretty big, but going just a few feet over, left, or right will result in a penalty. You can easily finish with a birdie or even an eagle, but a bogey or double is almost as likely.

Not much to see on the eighteenth tee.

Approaching the eighteenth green.

The eighteenth green.

My memory of Orchard Creek is unfortunately dominated by something other than the course itself. Even though we were in upstate New York, the weather was hot enough to make even the Deep South proud. 95 degrees with humidity to match. And for some reason, the owners of the golf course decided not to put any water out for people to drink. No, you have to buy water for $2.50 a bottle (or $3 if you buy from the beverage cart). So while the round itself only cost $40 per person on a Saturday morning, the reality is that you'll spend a fair amount more than that keeping yourself hydrated. I think all told we spent at least $20 extra.

It's unfortunate that the experience was marred by heat and dehydration, because Orchard Creek is a genuinely good golf course. There's no really outstanding holes, but there really isn't anything too weak, and most of the course features good strategic golf. As I said in the first part, the course didn't cost much to build, and the architect did a great job. The condition of the course was great, and there was plenty of strategic interest. The fourteenth is a fun little short par 4, the knob in the middle of the sixth green was quirky, it's a generally fun golf course. I'd say it's definitely worth playing, and that $40 is a pretty good price. Just remember to bring water with you if it's hot.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Nut Case Brown Ale

Brewed by: Idiom Brewing Company, Frederick, Maryland

Description (from the website): "East Kent Golding hops – Malty and smooth with touches of toffee and a slight nuttiness."

Would I buy it again?: As you may have noticed, this particular beer isn't sitting in my kitchen. I went to the driving range and I felt like having a beer afterward. It was one of those days. And since it was so nice, I decided to actually go to one of Frederick's many breweries. I'd never been to Idiom, and it was close to where I parked, so I stopped in for a quick beer. A brown ale may not have been the most appropriate choice for a warm September evening, but it was really good. If I ever visit again, I'd definitely consider getting it again.

Review: Orchard Creek Golf Club (Part 1)

It's that time of year again. I've been on vacation with my brothers, and I played a whole bunch of golf on my trip. Not good golf, but that's now it goes sometimes. Last year, it was glamorous Groton, Conn., this year, it's equally glamorous Troy, N.Y. If you don't know where that is, it's a suburb of Albany, a bit northeast of the city. One of my brothers currently lives in Troy, so we saved ourselves the cost of a hotel room. Unfortunately, the best golf course in Troy is private, so we were forced to explore a bit to find some interesting golf courses. Good thing I like to drive.

The first course we played was the closest to home base, and the only one of the five courses I played that I'd say was actually in the Albany metropolitan area. Orchard Creek Golf Club is about a half hour west from the center of Albany, not that you'd guess that looking at the pictures. We're in decidedly rural territory out here, and this may not come as a huge surprise, but the course is actually integrated with a working apple orchard. Shocking, right? The orchard came first, and the owners of that orchard decided they wanted to build a golf course on some newly purchased land. Orchard Creek was built for less than $1.5 million, which is incredibly cheap for a course that opened in 1999. Courses in the modern age just cost a bunch to build. The question is: How much quality is there in a course that cost so little to build? Let's find out.

The first hole is a 530 yard par 5, and when you step onto the tee, there's not much to see. The fairway disappears over the top of a hill with no indication of where the hole goes after that. So for first-time players, all you can do is hit driver and hope you've made the correct decision. Luckily, you have. The further you get, the better view you'll have of the green, but it's on the second shot where decisions have to be made. The green is well below the level of the fairway, and not only is there a steep downslope you don't want your second shot to end up on, but there's also a fairway bunker about 50 yards short of the green. So you either you commit to a long third shot or you go for the green. There are two bunkers left of the green, which is fairly big and filled with plenty of slope.

There's not much to guide you on the first tee.

Approaching the first green.

The first green.

The second hole is a mid-length par 4, but it plays longer for a couple of reasons. For one, the second shot is extremely uphill, and two, it's kind of not a great idea to use driver off of the tee. To the right is a line of trees, to the left is Bozen Kill (Kill being a Dutch word for creek), and the fairway gets narrower the further you go. You do need to be fairly far left, missing the fairway right means you'll probably be blocked out by trees. If you've done things correctly, the second shot is a short or mid iron up a 50 foot hill to an undulating green.

The second hole. The Bozen Kill is left.

The second green is perched up on a hill.

The second green.

The third hole is a very strong reminder as to why the course is called Orchard Creek. It's a short par 5, just under 500 yards, and all along the left side is an apple orchard. There's nothing stopping you from wandering into the orchard, and I imagine a few golfers pick up some apples when the time is right and the fruit is ripe. A fade will work best off of the tee, as the orchard cuts in, limiting the distance you can go down the left side. You have a few options on the second shot, you can lay up short of the two fairway bunkers, you can lay up to the nearly disjointed section of fairway to the left, or you can go for the green. Going left is not a great idea, since you'll be left with a half wedge over a bunker, so I'm not entirely sure why there's fairway there.

The third hole.

Approaching the third green.

The third green.

The fourth hole is another mid-length par 4 playing uphill, though the elevation change isn't quite as drastic as it is on the second. While there's nothing stopping you from using a driver, the hole is pinched between a pair of fairway bunkers left and a group of trees right, so the playing corridor is pretty narrow. The green is also guarded on the left by sand, so you might be tempted to bail out right. But that will leave a chip to an elevated green that runs away. Not an easy proposition. Accuracy is definitely important on this hole.

The fourth hole.

Approaching the fourth green.

The fifth hole is a fairly short, downhill par 4. Once again, driver may not be the best choice, as there are three fairway bunkers scattered around the 250-300 yard range. There's nothing stopping you from pulling the driver, which is good though. If you've laid up, the second shot is a wedge or short iron to a green guarded by one bunker in the front. This is another undulating green, so be wary of that.

The fifth hole.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is the first par 3 on the course, and it's a bit of a weird one. It's slightly uphill, 160 yards, and plays to a big bunkerless green. It sounds pretty easy, but there's one big complicating factor: a big knob in the middle of the green. It's a simple thing, but it really dominates the hole. Every shot, every chip, and virtually every putt has to deal with that mound. It makes things interesting.

The sixth hole.

The sixth green, complete with large knob in the middle.

The seventh hole is a long par 4, running straight down along a forest on the left side. The tee shot is completely blind, but other than that and the O.B. left, it's pretty straightforward. The interesting part is the second shot. The green runs from front to back, which means second shots will be difficult no matter how long they are. And considering the hole is 455 yards, there's a good chance the second shot will be quite long. However, the green is completely open in the front and receptive to run-up shots, so don't worry too much if you can't hit a big soaring long iron that lands softly.

The seventh hole. This was taken from a lookout tower, since the view from the tee is blind.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is a 190 yard par 3 that plays back across Bozen Kill, though the stream doesn't really come into play. There are two bunkers right and the green is particularly undulating; otherwise, this isn't the most interesting hole in the world.

The eighth hole, heading over Bozen Kill.

The ninth hole is a mid-length par 4 with a very uphill and very blind tee shot. The hole bends left around a small fairway bunker, but considering all the room you've got, you'd have to be pretty unlucky to end up in it. A bigger concern is driving through the fairway, where you can easily get caught up in a cluster of small trees. Once again though, the green is of interest, as a ridge divides it into left and right sections. End up on the wrong half, and I imagine two putting would be a real challenge.

The ninth hole.

Approaching the ninth green.

The ninth green has a big ridge running through it.

That's all for this week, next week we'll take a look at the back nine.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Good Juju Ale

Brewed by: Left Hand Brewing Company, Longmont, Colorado

Description (from the website): "A little Juju voodoo – fresh ginger kisses the lithe malty body, copulating with the hop in this pale ale ancestor. Emancipate yourself from the dead of winter, none but the vernal equinox can free the light. A refreshing frivolity. Hey mon. Shuccha fwangaa! Better a witch doctor than a trouble maker. Quit yor’ bitchin’ an’ get to witchin’."

Would I buy it again?: I doubt it. When I took the first sip, I was afraid this would be terrible. That the brewery would have gone overboard with the ginger and I was about to get punched in the face. That was not the case. The ginger is there, but it's very subtle and in the background. It's basically just a pale ale otherwise. Not bad, but nothing special.

Glenn Dale Golf Club Has Closed

And with an obituary in the Washington Post too. 

The ninth hole at Glenn Dale.

I've been sort of keeping an eye on the Glenn Dale situation ever since I found out the course was closing while in the process of writing my review for it (see here and here). I wanted to know why such a fun little golf course was closing, and now I have my answer. The place just wasn't making money, losing $1 million in the past 5 years. With that kind of losses, it's no surprise the sell-off came. And of course, it's going to be replaced with boring, bland suburban houses. 

In the grand scheme of things, Glenn Dale is not a huge loss. It was a neat little course, but nothing that would bring in golfers from hundreds of miles away. But it also wasn't one of the many soulless country-clubs-for-a-day that got built in the 90s and early 2000s that have since gone bust. It had a history. It meant something to the people who played it. There was a real Glenn Dale community, and it's unfortunate that things are coming to an end. 

Beer of the Week

The beer: Los Lobos Mexican Lager

Brewed by: Tall Tales Brewing Company, Parsonsburg, Maryland

Description (from the website): "A Parsonsburg classic made with locally malted two-row barley and corn."

Would I buy it again?: No, I wouldn't. I'm not sure what exactly makes a lager a Mexican Lager, but if it's being bland, than this is a great example. It wasn't even bad enough for me to really dislike, it was just mediocre.